


Game On!

by Sholio



Category: Stranger Things (TV 2016)
Genre: Banter, Fluff, Friendship, Gen, Role-Playing Game
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-01-08
Updated: 2018-01-08
Packaged: 2019-03-02 00:01:33
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 882
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/13306122
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Sholio/pseuds/Sholio
Summary: The kids teach Steve how to play D&D.





	Game On!

**Author's Note:**

  * For [prodigal_son_tm](https://archiveofourown.org/users/prodigal_son_tm/gifts).



"Our party needs a fighter," Dustin said, by way of introduction, when Steve picked up the phone.

"You know it's customary to say hello and who's calling when you call someone, right? You could've been talking to my mom -- wait, is that nerdspeak for 'something is attacking and we're all gonna die'? Hang on, where are you --" He sat up so quickly that the blood rushed out of his head and he had to clutch the arm of the sofa for a minute.

"No, no, we're fine, don't have a heart attack, Steve!" Dustin said quickly. "It's about D&D."

"Of course it is." He flopped back on the couch, limp with relief. "And you called me on Christmas break to tell me about it."

"Yeah, but no, Steve, we were talking about this, and everything that happened with the Demodogs made us realize that our party is really heavy on the magic-users and the stealth types, but we really don't have any heavy-hitter fighters at all --"

"I still can't tell if you're talking about your game or real life."

"Both? I mean. What are you doing over the break, Steve?"

"Uh ..." He twisted his head to the side to look at the TV, where someone had just won a car on _The Price is Right_. "Stuff. Important stuff."

"Yeah, that's what I thought. Meet me at my house tomorrow. I'll get the player guide from Mike and help you make a character."

"You heard me say I'm doing important stuff, right, dipshit? I didn't even agree to play your game!" He was talking to dead air; Dustin had already hung up.

 

*

 

"For the record," Steve said when Dustin answered the Hendersons' door with a book tucked under his arm and a huge grin on his face, "the fact that I'm here doesn't mean I've consented to play your nerd game with you. Right? Hi, Mrs. Henderson."

Dustin's mom waved to him from her armchair, where she was comfortably ensconced with a book and her kitten in her lap. "Hi, dear! Thank you for coming over to play with Dusty. There are cookies on the counter; help yourself."

"It's not _playing,_ Mom; we're doing serious stuff. C'mon," Dustin urged, dragging Steve by a grip on his jacket. Steve snatched a handful of cookies on his way past.

 

*

 

"Okay, maxing out your strength is good, but, dude. Don't use your INT as a dump stat."

"I have no idea what you just said."

"Strong good. Smart also good."

"Jackass."

 

*

 

"Steve .... you can't name your character 'Steve'."

"Why not?"

"Okay, first of all, because Steve the barbarian sounds stupid, and second, because your character isn't _you."_

"I thought it _was_ me. That's how you explained this, like the whole point to this game is pretending you're running around exploring a basement --"

"Dungeon. Or wherever. That's just an _example._ And it's ... okay ... okay, look. You like movies, right?"

"... right?"

"And movies are about people, right?"

"With you so far."

"So the whole point of this game is, it's like you're a person in a movie, acting it out. And nobody wants to see a movie about a barbarian named _Steve."_

"Excuse you, I would watch the hell out of that movie."

"... me too, but Steve, that's not the _point._ The point is, Mike will never let you name your barbarian Steve."

"Okay, fine, you name it then."

"Just pick something, Steve. It's not rocket science."

 

*

 

"Landrover the Barbarian," Dustin declared, smacking the character sheet down on the table in Mike's basement. "His weapon is a club."

"With nails," Steve put in. He was sitting on the steps to the basement, idly swinging his foot back and forth. The game still sounded both baffling and dull, but watching the kids get excited about it was the main attraction anyway.

"I told you, man, that's not an option unless Mike says it is."

Mike picked up the character sheet. "His intelligence is 4?" 

"I told him it was a bad idea but he wouldn't listen to me."

"This is gonna be a disaster," Lucas said.

 

*

 

"That was surprisingly ..." Steve hunted for words. "... not terrible."

"Yeah!" Dustin was bouncing at every step as he and Steve walked to Steve's car. "Dude. You kicked that basilisk's _ass_. I knew we needed a fighter in the party!"

He held out a hand and Steve slapped it.

"Though, don't take this the wrong way, but you gotta start rolling your dice instead of throwing them," Dustin added. "That time you hit Mike in the head was pretty funny, though."

Steve still felt slightly guilty for that. "I didn't know there was a technique to it."

"I can show you! You're coming back next week, right?"

Dustin just looked so elated, lit up from the inside. And it _had_ been fun, in a weird way -- mostly for kid-watching more than the actual game itself, but hell, he hadn't had any other plans for the evening. It beat hanging around the house watching TV or dragging himself through the drudgery of college applications. Also, Steve didn't know exactly when this had happened, but somehow making these kids happy had turned into the highlight of his week.

"Course I am," Steve said, and Dustin beamed like his face was going to split in half.


End file.
